The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, also referred to as 3GPP™, is a collaboration agreement that aims to define globally applicable Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for 3rd Generation Systems. Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) in Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) or in Evolved Universal Radio Access (E-UTRA) describes techniques for transmission of MBMS-bearer service in UTRA or E-UTRA, such as point-to-multipoint transmission, and selective combining and transmission mode selection between point-to-multipoint and point-to-point bearer. 3GPP™ Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone or device standard to cope with future requirements. The 3GPP™ may define one or more specifications for a next generation of mobile networks, systems, and devices. In one aspect, UMTS has been modified to provide support and specification for the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). Information about MBMS may be found in the 3GPP™ website, www.3gpp.org
Mobile, i.e., portable and wireless, devices are presently readily available and ubiquitously used. Such devices typically require power, such as from a battery, to run their processing and interfacing. Considering that the typical battery life is limited, ways of efficiently utilizing this limited resource, as well as providing good user experience are desirable.
Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, introduced in 3GPP™ Release 6, supports multicast/broadcast services in a cellular system. Release 6 of MBMS, however, is generally characterized as inefficient and may not be widely deployed. The current LTE working assumption pertaining to MBMS notification is that it may be implemented by using the MBMS Indication Channel (MICH), as defined in Release 6. The current 3GPP™ Release 6 LTE working assumption, however, requires a user equipment (UE) with MBMS subscription to monitor two indicator channels, i.e., both MICH and the Paging Indication Channel (PICH) to receive, respectively, MBMS service and normal or traditional cellular services—e.g., a cellular phone or voice call. An MBMS service, for example, is a mobile TV or video service. The current LTE working assumption or platform thus puts UE in a position where they may be consuming more battery charge. Therefore ways of receiving information about MBMS and yet still be conserving battery resources are highly desirable.